


The Burning Cold

by Settiai



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Critmas Exchange, Friendship, Gen, Huddling For Warmth, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-09-29 01:43:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17194127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Settiai/pseuds/Settiai
Summary: Caleb felt like he was on fire.It was an odd sensation.  His entire body felt as if it was ablaze, his skin burning as if flames licked at it, yet there was something underneath the heat that didn’t quite fit in.  Cold.  A frigid, icy cold that burned almost as much as the fire that he could call to his fingertips with such ease.





	The Burning Cold

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Almighty_Carrots](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Almighty_Carrots/gifts).



Caleb felt like he was on fire.

It was an odd sensation. His entire body felt as if it was ablaze, his skin burning as if flames licked at it, yet there was something underneath the heat that didn't quite fit in. Cold. A frigid, icy cold that burned almost as much as the fire that he could call to his fingertips with such ease.

A whimper slipped from his lips before he could stop it. 

"No, no, no." The voice coming from above him was familiar, and he knew that he should recognize it. There was a name at the tip of his tongue, pressing to be remembered. His mind felt muddled, though, as if it was running continually into a thick wall that it couldn't force its way past. "You are going to be fine. Do you hear me, Caleb? You will be fine."

The flames tore at his skin as he tried to force his eyes open, his eyelids feeling as if they were as heavy as stone. He had a brief impression of blue – wide eyes, a mouth that should be smiling turned downwards in a frown instead – before they sunk closed again.

A hand rested against his cheek. It felt like a balm against his skin, cold and warm both at once, cooling the flames and warming the ice. "You're going to be fine," the voice repeated, and a distant part of his mind catalogued the fact that the words were shaking. "You have to do what I say, remember? I'm the cleric. So you will be fine."

He knew that voice. He didn't know why or where or how, but he knew it. He trusted it. It would keep him safe from the flames, from the ice, from the pain that was slowly building in his chest, in his head, in his body as a whole.

Caleb slipped into darkness.

*

There was something heavy resting on Caleb's chest. That was the first thing he noticed as he slowly came back to consciousness. The next thing he realized was that he was freezing, shivers shaking his entire body and sending sharp pains through his chest. He could hear the crackling of a fire somewhere nearby, but it wasn't quite enough to fight the chill in the air.

Frowning, he let his mind drift for a moment before he tried to open his eyes. His normally perfect memory was muddled – something that had happened before, but not in quite some time – and there were gaps that he couldn't quite fill in. There were clearly events missing, and that was something that terrified him, because for him not to remember something meant it had been bad.

There'd been a fight, that much he remembered. A surprise attack after they'd finished dinner but before he had settled down to use his magic to make them shelter for the night. Shouting and blood and lightning and insects and cursing, all mixing together into a familiar cacophony that somehow felt like home after so many months.

He remembered something hitting him in the chest. A sharp pain flooding through his entire body. Nott yelling his name. Falling backwards into... into...

... into the river. The overflowing, half-frozen river that had been running alongside their camp.

Suddenly the fact that he felt so cold made a lot of sense.

It took more effort than it should have, but Caleb forced his eyes open. His vision was blurred, dark encroaching on the edges of it as his body protested the fact that he was moving. Still, he could see well enough to make out the familiar form that was all but wrapped around him in what he assumed was an attempt to share body heat. Blue skin. Small, curling horns. A tail that was twitching back and forth like a cat's as its owner slept.

Jester.

Caleb opened his mouth to speak. He wasn't quite certain what he was going to say. What happened? Where were the others? Why was she there?

He slipped back into the darkness before he could find the words.

*

The next time Caleb woke up, it was to the sound of someone singing. It was soft and low, barely more than a whisper on the wind, but he could still hear it.

It sounded like a lullaby.

Caleb could feel a variety of aches and pains all over his body, but his mind was clearer than it had been before. He could vaguely remember what had happened: the fight, the river, the bitter cold... and Jester, wrapped around him as she slept.

He didn't even open his eyes before asking the question that immediately popped into his head: "Where are the others?"

The words were weaker than he would have liked, and his voice was so raspy that they were almost inaudible. Still, it was enough to bring the quiet singing to an abrupt halt.

"Caleb?" There were suddenly hands on him, running up and down his chest before moving up to cup his cheeks and then press against his forehead. "Caleb, can you hear me?"

It took a fair bit of effort, but Caleb forced his eyes open. His vision was somewhat blurry, which was to be expected, but he could still make out the familiar form of Jester leaning over him. Her eyes were wide with a strange combination of fear and relief that he could have done without seeing on her face, especially knowing that he was the cause of it.

"Ja," he said. "I hear you. Where are the others? I remember—"

Without warning, Jester pressed a kiss against his forehead. It only lasted a moment, barely enough for the touch of her lips against his skin to even register, but it was enough to cause him to cut off abruptly as his brain temporarily stopped working.

"I was so worried," Jester said as she pulled away. "You were so cold when I managed to get you out of the river, and—"

Caleb pressed a series of complicated emotions back down as deep in his mind as he could, forcing his brain to focus solely on the present. He carefully pushed himself up into a sitting position, purposefully ignoring the way that the world spun around him just a tiny bit as he did.

"Jester," he said firmly, stopping her rambling mid-sentence, "what happened to the others?"

Jester's face darkened slightly, giving her a flushed look. It might have been a trick of the light, but Caleb didn't think so. "Oh, the others are fine," Jester said hurriedly. "They should be here soon. That's what Fjord said when I used Sending earlier."

Which answered half of the question at least.

"Why aren't they with us?" Caleb pressed.

Jester tilted her head a little. "Well, after I jumped in after you, we were swept a long way down the river before I could get us out again," she said. "They haven't caught up to us yet."

She said it matter-of-factly, as if there was nothing whatsoever out of the ordinary about her words. Caleb just stared at her.

After a few seconds, Jester's mouth turned downward into a worried-looking frown. "Caleb?" she asked. "Are you alright? Do I need to build the fire higher? It's only that we're almost out of wood, and I didn't think I should leave you alone to go find some."

"You jumped in after me?" he repeated.

Jester blinked. "Of course," she said confusedly. "As soon as I saw you go in the water."

Caleb opened his mouth. Then he closed it. He... didn't really know what to say to that.

"Do you want me to go get some more wood? For the fire?" Jester asked. "Now that you're awake, I can go look for some if you'd like. I know the fire is a little small."

Caleb stared at her. Then he held out his hand towards the nearby campfire and focused on his magic for a moment, looking for the spark that he knew was just under the surface of his skin. In front of them, the small fire that Jester had set up almost doubled in size in an instant.

Jester's face lit up. "Oh, that works even better!"

She leaned against Caleb's shoulder and let out a contented sigh, any worries she might have had seemingly forgotten. Or, at least, well-hidden. With her, either was a possibility.

"Danke dir," Caleb said quietly. It was easier to say the words in Zemnian, even though it probably wasn't entirely fair to Jester since she didn't speak the language.

For a second or two, Jester stayed quiet. Then she leaned her head a little more towards him, resting it against the side of his own. "You're welcome, Caleb."

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Twitter. (https://twitter.com/settiai)


End file.
